Rutgers Back to Business After Upset Win Over Army

Rutgers coach Brian Brecht and the Scarlet Knights team had a short memory last week. After a disappointing loss to Stony Brook over the weekend, the team got back to business with a shootaround Sunday, followed by a practice Monday that was more intense than a typical pre-game walkthrough.

It was Rutgers' first win vs. Army since 2007 and first win against a ranked team since 2010 (Notre Dame). The Scarlet Knights now sit at 3-2.

But like Rutgers put the weekend loss in the rearview and moved on, they're doing the same with the big win. Brecht knows as well as any that a win in early March doesn't mean much in May.

"The nice thing about the midweek wins, with school and classes and academic commitments, it's not like a Saturday night where you can dwell on it too much," Brecht said.

Impressive about the win against Army was that game-changing face-off specialist Joe Nardella, one of the best draw men in the country with an 85.2% winning percentage on the year, was sidelined with an injury.

Nardella suffered a concussion against Virginia late in the first quarter. His absence in the game was a momentum swing in favor of the Cavs from which Rutgers could not recover. Nardella was 10-of-13 on draws, winning 7-of-8 in the first quarter while Rutgers led 4-3.

The training staff will follow protocol for handling concussions, and he's expected back at some point this season.

The Scarlet Knights stepped forward as a team to make up for Nardella's production against Army, something they did not do in the 12-9 loss vs. Stony Brook.

"Losing Joe Nardella has been a little bit of a game-changer as far and possessions and transition situations out of the face-off," Brecht said. "It's the extra possessions and groundballs and the plays we can make out of his face-off wins. You take that away, you have to ask everyone else not to be a superstar, but to take a half step further in their play."

Rutgers went 7-of-21 on face-offs vs. Army but still earned the win.

Senior Scott Klimchak has been the standout player on the stat sheet. He scored the game-winner Tuesday, one of his four goals. His goal totals through five games: 5 (win vs. Manhattan), 4 (win vs. Wagner), 4 (loss vs. Virginia), 1 (loss vs. Stony Brook). But "it was a great team effort," Brecht said.

Junior Rich Rambo (1G vs. Army) has made an impact at midfield, and Brecht has relied on a number of middies to be two-way guys. Scott Bieda, a sophomore attackman from New Jersey, did not show up on the scoresheet but had a crucial ride on the game-winning goal. He sold out on the ride, and the ball spit out to senior Nick DePaolera, who fed Klimchack for the winner. The defense and rope unit put up a great performance as well.

"We're starting to get more and more pieces as we grow the program. We're really working on developing their game," Brecht said. "It's maybe the guys who haven't been the lead guys who have developed while being in the program."

As for a span of winnable games for the Scarlet Knights — vs. Monmouth, at Providence, vs. Richmond — Brecht is quick to quell notions of being the favorite.

"I take nothing for granted. We haven't earned that yet. … One game isn't going to make the season for us, and you can't pencil in wins. I like that we're working hard and we're getting better. The rest of our games are either 50-50 or a reach to us. We've got 60 minutes to prove how good we are."